What's Hot: Provides a significant level of drop/bump protection without adding a lot of weight or girth. Smart Cover enabled.

What's Not: Unreliable as a stand. Doesn't play nice with screen protectors.

Reviewed by Tom Slayton

Speck's new Pixelskin HD Wrap for the 3rd Generation iPad is a folio-style case that is Smart Cover enabled. Unlike most others, however, this one features Speck's signature pixilated texture and hard plastic finish. Unfortunately, the Pixelskin HD falls down (literally) when folded into a stand.

Size and Fit

The Pixelskin HD installs/removes in seconds, and fits the new iPad's increased girth perfectly. Like most folio cases, this one doesn't add a great deal of weight or size, and the bezel grips the edges of your device firmly. Unfortunately, this iron grip will also cause any 3rd party screen protectors to bubble and peel back around the edges. This was not a big issue for me because I don't care for screen protectors (the only reason I discovered this is because I happened to be testing a new one at the same time). However, if you are a fan of these clear pieces of plastic, this is definitely going to be an issue for you.

Features and Quality

The Pixelskin HD Wrap is a full-featured folio case. Its front cover interacts with your iPad the way Apple's Smart Cover does, awakening your device whenever it is opened, and it also folds back into two different positions to function as a stand. Unfortunately, I found the Pixelskin's performance in this capacity to be unsatisfactory. The cover is too stiff and slick to hold itself in place when configured for typing, causing it to slowly unfold during use. The horizontal viewing orientation is significantly more stable. However, I still experienced several spontaneous releases during testing.

Style

Speck's signature pixilated surface is very stylish and it is available in blue, red, teal, pink, purple, and black. If you're hoping to stand out from the crowd yet still be able to carry your iPad like a notebook, you're in luck because there's nothing drab or dull about this folio.

Summary

Speck's Pixelskin HD Wrap for the 3rd generation iPad is good looking, and solidly made. Unfortunately, if you intend to use it as a stand (particularly for typing) or are partial to screen protectors you're going to be better off passing on this particular version.